Fleeting Moments
by Rehn13
Summary: The Great Petrification is over and Tellius is saved, but all is not well. This story will follow the adventures of a man named Siegthur in the country of Begnion, a nation in turmoil. Missing most of the old Senators, Empress Sanaki takes matters into her own hands with a new outlook on life. What will become of Begnion, and what is Siegthur's role in this nation?
1. Prologue

Hey guys, I'm new here. I'm assuming you've all guessed that. This is my first published story and I hope ya'll enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Characters or the title. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the OC's in the story. Now let's get started, shall we?

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Fleeting Moments (Prologue)

Drip. Drip. Drip. The only sounds I could hear was the dripping of water. Of course the plumbing was bad here. I let out a sigh as I strained my vision to try to see in the pitch-black darkness. I couldn't see anything, but I knew there were bars in front of me or some sort of door. I moved my right arm in a feeble attempt. The shackles were as tight as ever. Might as well not even try my leg shackle.

There was a creak as the door slid open and a large, muscular man walked in. "How ya' holdin' up?" He asked in a gruff voice.

I shielded my eyes from the light that the door had let in. I had no idea what time it was, but I may as well been ten feet from the sun. "F-fuck…y-y-you." I forced the words from my collared throat.

A metal tray was thrust in front of me. "Don't worry. I'll find something for you to do. It's been what…a month that you've been stuck down here?" He let out a boisterous laugh. "Don't worry, boy. You'll be out eventually. It's just that people in Begnion don't like your kind!" He roared once more and slammed the door behind him, shutting out all traces of light again. A moment later, a bit of light shined through the open slot in the door.

I stared meekly at the tray of slop before me. There was a small, whitish blob and a tray of green slop with a single spoon. I began to stomach the food; after all, it was better than starving. A month of this made it edible, even if I didn't get it every day. After forcing it all down, I stumbled over to the only sink. I picked up the only glass they had given me and filled it with water. At least the water was clean. I gleefully drunk the glass and preceded to rinse it off for later use.

I washed my face off and stared into the blank wall. I wondered what I looked like now. After eating and drinking, I walked back to my original spot and collapsed on the floor. Time for rest.

* * *

I awoke to the sounds of several screams. I quickly jumped up and ran for the door, only to be pulled back by my shackles. I stood motionless, waiting on something more to happen.

The smell of smoke hung in the air as blood curdling screams echoed throughout the hallways. I patiently stared at the door, awaiting a savior to burst in. All was still for a moment, and then the door swung open, but it was no savior. The large man who fed me lurched in, holding a steel axe in his right hand and a pair of keys in the other. "You're comin' with me!" He forcibly grabbed me by the arm and sliced the chains that had shackled me to the wall.

"Why on Tellius would I willingly go with you?" I weakly jerked myself away, but his grip was like iron.

"Don't ya' struggle now, it'll only make things harder!" He yanked me out of the room and was leading me down a long hallway.

Since I was powerless over this brute, I decided to at least get some information from him, "Where are we going?"

"Dunno, just far from here," He casually replied while maintaining his sprint.

"Stop right there!" I heard a voice say. It sounded like it came from the other end of the hall. I began to twist my head to see the culprit, but my face was met with an unruly fist.

"It's easier this way," The brute said, flinging my unconscious body over his shoulder while ramming a door off its hinges. We were now outside with nothing around but a nearby forest. The man bolted over to some stables and let one of the horses out. He then chunked my unconscious body over the saddle before getting on himself.

"Better get going," He whispered to himself, grabbing ahold of the reins. A low whistle escaped his lips as he snapped the reins, sending the mare forward full speed. It galloped off into the forest, leaving the small, white building as a speck in the distance.

* * *

When I finally came to, it was already night. The horse was tied to a tree and eating some grass while the man was fueling a small fire. I checked my surroundings and found myself in a sprawling forest. Unfortunately I had no idea where I was, but found that I wasn't chained to anything. That in itself was a relief.

"You're finally up, eh?" The man chuckled as he fanned the fire. I could finally get a good look at him. He was a burly, well-built man who stood just over six feet tall; well taller than my own five foot nine. He had short black hair and stern black eyes to match. His facial features were rough and he had a small chin beard. A scar ran diagonal from below his left eye to the right side of his jaw. He wore a brown v-neck shirt with one gray shoulder pad on his right side. His pants were baggy, beige, and tucked into his black boots that came right below his knees. He kept the pants up with a big, black and steel studded belt.

"I could easily run away. What's stopping me?" I remembered the harsh treatment that I had endured for over a month. Why would he just let me be unchained?

"You wouldn't wanna do that. After all, I know what you are. People around these parts don't take kind to you. Plus I have you shackled and collared. You'll never be the same as long as you are." He howled in laughter and then walked over to the horse who had a few bags strapped to it.

I looked down at my wrists and barely realized that they were now shackled together. At least my leg shackle is gone. "What do you want from me?"

"In this day and age, I figure that I own your scrawny ass. I can't just let my property run away, can I?" He returned to the fire with a few pieces of meat and started to cook.

"You can't just own somebody!" I spat, feeling my anger boil.

"Well I figure I'm a wanted fugitive now. You're an accomplice and somebody that no one in all of Begnion will care about. Face it, kid, we're in this together." He gave another small chuckle and handed me a piece of cooked meat and a canteen of water.

"This is the best food you've given me all month. Why?" I apprehensively stared at the savory morsel in my hand, feeling my mouth begin to water.

"Like I said, it's just you and me, kid. Eat up." He chowed down on his portion, not bothering to look at me again.

Might as well. I doubt he'll poison or kill me. I let out a sigh and bit off a nice piece of it. The taste. "Mmm."

"Like it? Get used to it, unless we find more of us. Name's Gurgent, by the way."

"My name's Siegthur. You can call me Sieg, though. Saves time." He nodded and went back to his meal. My mind wandered as I looked up at the night sky. It was filled with an endless amount of twinkling stars. So vast and free. "Free…" I murmured before returning to my succulent meal.

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So there's the prologue. I hope ya'll enjoyed it. Please leave critiques and comments. Like I said, it's my first published story, and I hope I get somewhere with it. Tons of favs and whatnot. Don't worry, I'll bring in some recognizable RD characters in the later chapters. Sorry if the chapter was a bit short. Let me know if you mind that.

-Rehn


	2. Chapter 1

Back again. I hope ya'll enjoyed the prologue, and I'm hoping to get even more comments than before. Kinda inspires me to write more. Hopefully this chapter is longer. And about that unconscious part in the prologue, I kind of didn't just want to put him blacking out, so it was intentional. I thought about removing it, but figured it would be fine and that I liked it better that way.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fire Emblem franchise or any of their characters. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the OC's. Without further ado, chapter one.

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Chapter One: A New Life

I was walking alongside Gurgent who was leading the horse by foot. I decided to break the silence, "Where are we heading?"

"We'll cross the Ribahn River into the Sestohl Plains. After that, we can head into Telgam. I know a guy that can help."

"How can you expect me to help you after all this mistreatment?"

"Because I hold the key to your old life. If you run away, then you'll never be the same again," He snarled as the river came into sight. "Looks like we're almost there." He pulled the horse to a stop and came over to me.

"What're you doing?" I took a few steps back, knowing full well how defenseless I am.

"Relax." He fetched a key from his pocket and unlocked the shackles. They fell to the ground with a small thud in a cloud of dust.

"…Thanks," I murmured. Sarcasm lined my voice as I rubbed my sore wrists. He threw the shackles into the forest and grabbed the horse's reins.

"Halt! Who goes there?" A pair of Begnion Soldiers had stopped us.

"My partner and I are a pair of traveling merchants. We were headed on our way to Telgam," Gurgent informed them with a sly smirk. Both Soldiers looked us over before nodding to each other.

"Procede," They said in unison, standing to the side. Gurgent gave a nod and we walked pass. I made sure to keep my head down as the Soldier gave me a weird stare.

* * *

Night had once again fallen and Gurgent said we were getting closer to Telgram. We had decided to rest in a small forested area. A fire was roaring and the horse was already fast asleep. "When can I go?"

"Go?" He let loose an uncontrollable laugh that rumbled the forest. "Look, kid. I need to get my business up and running. For that, I need money." He went over to the horse and unstrapped a steel axe. He took up a battle stance and cleaved the branch off of a nearby tree. "And what I do best…is killing." A maniacal grin crossed his scarred face.

"So you're going to become an…assassin? I've never heard of Fighter assassin."

"I ain't one for stealth, but I guarantee that I'm stronger than those assassin sissies!" He roared and took a couple more swipes at the tree before putting the axe up. "You're pretty much defenseless, eh?" He rifled through one of the packs on the horse and brought out a simple iron sword. He looked it over and tossed it to me. I barely had enough time to react and catch it in my right hand.

"I can't use this…" I placed the sword up against the tree I was leaning against.

"Either you use that, or you die. I don't got any other weapons but axes, and those are mine." He laid down near the fire and dropped the subject.

I let out a sigh and held the sword horizontally, looking it over. How could I use a sword? Or any weapon for that matter? Fighting isn't right in the first place. I rammed the sword into the soft ground and closed my eyes, letting sleep overtake me.

* * *

I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of Gurgent screaming. I lurched up and frantically looked around. The horse was kicking about and Gurgent had his steel axe in his hand. "What's going on?" I yelled as a sword met his axe. Gurgent easily pushed the attacker back and slashed his chest.

"Isn't it fucking obvious? Some bandits are jumping us!" He replied while slicing a Bandit. He quickly glanced back at me as the body crumpled to the floor, "You gonna help or what?" He roared, sidestepping an incoming iron axe.

"It looks like you got things covered!" I chuckled as he took down an enemy Myrmidon.

"I'll remember this, kid!" He made a mental note, taking down the last Bandit in one clean slash.

"There, all done," I joked, dusting off my hands.

"You worthless piece of shit," Gurgent spat, plunging his axe into the ground. "You're lucky." He then laid back down without another word.

I let out a sigh and put my back against the tree, closing my eyes. There was a small snapping noise and I immediately scanned the area. A remaining Myrmidon stepped out from the shadows and gave a wicked sneer. My eyes widened in horror as he lunged at me. I barely had time to avoid his sword as he drove it into a tree. He easily removed it and gave a small war cry and charged at me. I dodged again, weaving behind him. "Sit still!" He growled, making another lunge. I recoiled back and my hand snaked down and gripped a handle. I pulled out the grounded iron sword and struck out with it as he jumped at me. The sword pierced right through his chest and his body went limp. Startled, I quickly dropped the blood stained sword. The body fell straight forward, impaling the sword even deeper.

"Well done, kid. Seems like you're not completely useless after all," Gurgent howled, applauding my kill.

"I-I didn't mean to…" I trailed off, taking my eyes off the fresh dead man.

"No matter. You did it. That's more than some." A wicked smile crossed his face before dropping back to sleep.

"Why didn't you help if you were awake?" He didn't answer. "Dammit…" I mumbled. I slid down against the tree, making sure to keep the body out of my sight. I think I'm going to have a rough sleep tonight. I let out another soft sigh before letting exhaustion take over.

* * *

We had finally arrived in Telgram, however night was on its way. "Let's find an inn," Gurgent suggested as we entered the town.

"It'll be nice to sleep elsewhere besides the floor." We found the nearest inn and Gurgent paid for two rooms after stabling the horse. All the while, I made sure to keep my face hidden from people. Glad the streets were pretty empty. He handed me a key as we walked to our respective rooms.

"I'll wake ya' tomorrow. Better be ready," He grunted, closing his room door behind him. I entered mine and immediately went to the bathroom.

I did my business and looked at myself in the mirror; it's been forever since I've seen myself. My white hair had grown and now reached down to my shoulders. I hastily tied it back into a small ponytail to give myself a more defined look, making sure to cover my pointed ears too. I gazed at my own cyan eyes; my warm, almost golden skin looked weary. "I need more sun." I quietly chuckled to myself, taking notice of how tired and worn out I looked. I took a few moments to shave my face of all my unwanted facial hair. "Nice and smooth. Well, smooth enough."

"One last thing," I whispered, fetching a thin, blue headband from my pockets. I looked at myself again. At the mark on my forehead. It was a thin, vertical line with an s going through it. Four equally thin lines were at each of the ordinal/intercardinal directions, almost making an x, but missing the middle. I heaved a sigh and tied the headband, hiding the mark and leaving my bangs, which reached halfway to my eyebrows, showing. "Siegthur, what have you gotten into?"

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So there's chapter one. I hope you guys liked it enough to comment and follow. I don't know if it's as long as ya'll want, so let me know what you think in the comment section. Hopefully I can get chapter two out soon. If there's anything wrong, feel free to point it out, and don't be afraid to comment.

-Rehn


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